Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Autumnal Equinox 2010

Autumn leaves that I played with in Photoshop.

Happy Autumnal Equinox!!

I spent about a half hour this morning sitting outside on our back stoop, admiring the golden autumn light, breathing in the crisp scents of Fall, and snuggling with our two cats—Mystic and Emma. I could feel Fall in the air and I think they could too. All they wanted to do was cuddle which was just fine with me. I put on my big old pink fleece robe and let them climb up on my lap.

When we moved to this house we made a difficult decision. My oldest daughter, Bri, has asthma and had developed a terrible allergy to the cats. None of us wanted to find new homes for them but all of us wanted Bri to be able to breathe. We decided the cats would only be allowed in the back yard and our garage and my studio which is just off the garage. This was our compromise. Even though my daughters are away at college I still keep up my end of the bargain. Often in the morning I put on my old robe to insure that cat hair doesn't get all over my clothes—this is now referred to as my "kitty robe"—and I join the cats outside.

Mystic is quite old and has become very frail. I don't know how much longer he'll be with us, although we've been saying that for almost two years now since the vet said we should put his life expectancy at months rather than years. I'm convinced this says a lot about the power of love, and he is nothing if not a furry ball of love.

Emma is only three and rather challenged, as cats go. She has never learned to jump very high and so the fence around the yard is the boundary of her world. For awhile we had a trellis near the fence and she could climb the trellis. But then she'd walk along the top of the fence until she either jumped or fell into a neighbor's yard where she'd find herself trapped—no trellis on their side! She'd walk back and forth on the other side of our fence crying in a very loud voice until our neighbors got home from work and let us into their yards to retrieve Emma. We removed the trellis and now she stays on our side. The most wonderous thing that ever happened in her life was when the cat from next door jumped up on top of our fence and just stayed up there looking down at her. It must have seemed to her like a miracle—like the sighting of the Virgin Mary on a rock wall perhaps. Even after the cat went home, Emma sat for days in the yard staring at the spot where the had appeared.

You never know when you'll come upon a miracle. In the meantime, enjoy the Fall.

I was all excited with the crisp feeling of fall in the air, too. Then yesterday it jumped up to 90 and today it reached 102! I look forward to putting on my fleecy robe and snuggling with my Chihuahua, Dixie, and her pet kitty, Mason soon.

Tricia McWhorter

Welcome to my little corner of the blogosphere.

Tricia McWhorter

Thanks so much for stopping by. Besides blogging I'm also a Certified Hypnotherapist. I'm working on a memoir as well as a novel and I teach an online class—Follow the Breadcrumbs Home. Since I'm spending so much time lately writing, my pastels and digital artwork are taking a bit of a back seat but to see some of my artwork just scroll down. Feel free to leave a comment or to pass my link along to friends.